


Cloud Dragons

by sassycatpants



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Dragons, Gen, Slice of Life, adventures abound, and it's a new year, cloud is interested in fireworks, dragon!cloud, friendships, in which our friends find a map, princess!Zack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-02-03 18:03:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 10,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1753685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassycatpants/pseuds/sassycatpants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud was a rather unintimidating sort of dragon, but Zack wasn't that great a princess either. Tifa's just along for the ride. <em>{In the mountains of Nibelheim, life, friendship and a healthy supply of goats are all that really matter.}</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Names

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Luci'en](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Luci%27en).



> Collection of oneshots loosely connected by the universe they exist in. I figured out what to do with the Cloud Dragons snippet over in Snip Snaps. This is the result; first chapter you'll notice is just Snip Snap's bit, I did that on purpose. I realized it worked just fine in its entirety and didn't need more.
> 
> Still for Luci because yeah. This is entirely his fault.

"Sorry, sorry, I just--"

"Stop  _laughing_!"

"I'm  _sorry_! Cloud is just... not very intimidating for a dragon, don't you think?" Zack covered his mouth, choking back the laughter before the dragon got  _really_ irritated and actually resorted to using fire to make his point. Said dragon-- _Cloud_ \-- just glowered, huffing angrily down at the SOLDIER; once he was sure he was watching, the dragon very pointedly picked up Buster sword in his claws and used it as a  _toothpick_.

"'Zack' is a terrible name for a princess," he began irritably. "So you have absolutely no place to be laughing at me!"

"Yeah, but I'm not a--"

"It's a  _terrible_ princess name," Cloud continued, completely ignoring Zack. "So I'm changing it, alright? From now on your name is... Is..." He paused, thinking. "Tifa!" he declared finally.

"But isn't that--"

"Exactly." Smugly Cloud dropped the Buster sword to the side, dropping his large head to get closer to Zack's eye level. "And she's very nice, you know. Brings me all sorts of tasty food to eat in return for not eating any of the villagers, and she'd make a nice princess, I think. But you're the one I'm stuck with, so I'll just call you Tifa too. Maybe you'll learn some manners if I do it often enough."

Somehow, Zack _really_ doubted that was how things worked--maybe he'd ask Tifa to explain though. (He would prefer not to find out just how flammable his hair was, thanks.)


	2. Not a chance

"Why?" Tifa asked, setting down the tray of drink on the inn counter. Zack tried a pout, but the teenage girl didn't even twitch, eyebrow going up. ( _City boy_ , she scoffed mentally. He'd have to do better than that.) "I don't get anything out of trying to explain it to him, and Cloud likes me. I'd rather not annoy him."

"But he can't just go around changing people's names!" Zack protested, crossing his arms. He felt bare without the Buster Sword on his back, but Cloud had made a point of never letting him head into town with it, to ensure he came back. Zack wasn't willing to leave his last memento of Angeal behind, and the dragon knew it.

"I'm not going to tell him that," Tifa repeated, lifting the tray again and turning away. She paused at the door to the inn kitchen, looking over her shoulder, eyes dancing with laughter as she gave him a jaunty little wave.

"See you tomorrow, Tifa," she called, just before the kitchen door swung shut behind her; Zack threw his hands up in frustration as her laughter drifted in his direction.

Maybe Missus Strife could talk some sense into the dragon?


	3. Fool's Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one is kind of dumb but-- _taxes_

"Hey," Zack began, voice echoing slightly in the cave; the soft clinking of gil pieces underscored his words, a half hummed litany of counting under his breath even as he spoke. "Why do you have so much gil anyway? Like--where does it _come_ from?"

Cloud looked up from his pile of rough gems, head tilting as he processed the question. Where did he get his gil? Wasn't that obvious--well, obviously not if he was _asking_. "Villagers," he muttered finally, attention turning back to the gems. "They like to buy my shiny stuff," he explained smugly. "And all I have to do is dig them outta the mountains."

"...So you're selling them whatever you find inside rocks and then buying goats with the gil they give you, and sleeping on the rest?"

"Pretty much. To be honest though, most of the gil is from taxes. I bought the entirety of the village on a whim, you see."

Zack considered this for a few moments in silence; Cloud had basically just explained that he was practically single handedly (clawedly?) running the entire village's economy, judging by the amount of gil that seemed to take up his cave. And then he began to laugh, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the wall of cold rock--Cloud was essentially the richest resident of Nibelheim whether he was an official one or not, and that was _ridiculous_.  
Add that he literally _owned the town--_ Taxes. He charged them _taxes_. On a _whim_.


	4. Tifa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not my fault and that's the story I'm sticking to.

Tifa was a smart girl--maybe a little bit naive, a little unrealistic, but she was _smart_. So when the dragon moved in, Tifa went out and made friends with it. ( _"Are you a princess?" "No, not really. Nibelheim doesn't have any **real** princesses, but they do call me one so that's just as good right?" "Well, I suppose it'll have to do."_ ) And just as expected, it had been a genius move; Cloud was hesitant to harm her and her home as a result.

Well, insomuch as a dragon who didn't care for about ninety percent of the village could be hesitant, but that was beside the point. He'd adopted Tifa as a friend and sub-princess, and he was going to protect her as fiercely as if she'd been his real princess. And that included her home. That she quickly organized the village into providing him a steady source of food and gil, talked Missus Strife into managing the books for all that gil he'd begun making and spent a good part of her day every day up in his cave just chatting away was more like a bonus.

So when Zack became, essentially, Cloud's kidnap victim and then a regular fixture in the inn, pleading for her to convince Cloud that he couldn't just go around renaming people...

Well, in a small place like Nibelheim she had to get her fun in somewhere right?


	5. Unlocked "Casual Cliff Diving" Achievement!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //laughs

"You know," Zack said slowly, kneeling to peer off the edge of the cliff; Tifa hovered worriedly behind him, twisting her hands against the handle of her basket. "I don't think it's that far down. Cloud could probably just fly on down and grab the blanket for us."

"Ahh-no, I can't."

"What? Why?" Zack looked up, frowning. "It's really not far, I mean--"

"I can't fly."

There was a long pause, as both humans looked bewildered by this information. Tifa was the first to break it. Clearing her throat, she set the basket down and turnd to face Cloud, hands on her hips.

"And _what_ do you mean you _can't fly_?"

"Exactly what I said Tifa-I can't fly," he replied stiffly. His wings twitched, flattening against his torso as the dragon stood his ground. Behind her, Zack got to his feet, looking between the cliff edge and the dragon, still bewildered.

"I--dragon who can't fly-Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you fly." He'd seen him run, jump and climb, but never fly. And now he was curious. "Why can't you fly, then?"

"I'm afraid of heights. They're-well, they're just awfully high, you know? I can't. I just can not do it."

Well, he couldn't make the poor dragon fly _now_ , could he? That'd be mean. With a sigh, Zack began to remove his bag. "Well, I guess I'll just have to do it." Moving closer to the edge, he peered down one last time, trying to find the best route to the picnic blanket he could see below.

"What-Zack!"

"Nah, don't worry I've jumped from higher!"

_"Zack!"_


	6. Heroes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still Luci's faaauuullttt.
> 
> Also I kind of hate this one. [frustrated kicking noises]

"They're holed up in the cave system. So when I signal," Zack began quietly. "You launch yourself from the top of the boulder pile and glide down at them. Just act like a dragon, okay?"

Cloud cocked his head in reply, studying the cave entrance for a moment in thought. "And the children?"

"Well, it's either scared of a harmless dragon for a minute or two or dead. We don't have much choices here, so we're going to have to go with the first one." Zack ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The situation was far from ideal, but he wasn't lying when he said they had no other choices. And with every minute, their chance to rescue the abducted kids was slipping away.

Breathing deeply, the man straightened. "Okay Cloud. I'm gonna swing around the back and herd them out, okay? Get the men together, don't let them scatter. Try to keep the kids from tumbling off the cliff when they run, but otherwise let them go."

He clapped the dragon on the side, then launched himself over the boulder to head for the cave's back entrance; they could totally do this. Any asshole who thought they'd get away with hurting some kids when he and Cloud were around had another thing coming! A moment later he was sneaking through the caves, alert and nearly silent.

\----

A few moments later saw Cloud launching himself off a pile of boulders with an angry roar, wings clipping a man as he made his pass; Zack emerged from the cave behind the group to the sound of gunfire, crying children and a very, very angry dragon.

It was the work of only a few moments to get the men rounded up and under _Sleep_ , and the spooked children calmed down.

By the time the rest of their rescue party had made it up the mountain, Zack was entertaining one little girl with stories about being the only boy princess in all the world, and the rest of the children had turned a silently suffering Cloud into their own personal jungle gym.

"You know," Cloud decided, once the children were finally pulled away from their new heroes and herded along to be returned to relieved parents. "You're not a bad princess after all, Zack."


	7. Did you wedge the stick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very solidly Luci'en's fault for this one. I complained abut being unable to write for Seph and he told me to wedge something up my butt and it'd come naturally. :l Showing him this produced a comment of "the stick is lodged snugly. that's seph right there".
> 
> Therefore you get this, I'm so sorry. /leaves the fandom.
> 
> It's also so very short but I--
> 
> I just really can not write Seph for any length of time without it going off into tangents and sounding absolutely terrible.

“Are you aware you have been 'missing' for _six months_ ,” is the first thing Sephiroth says when Zack answers the phone. “And the only reason you have not been listed as a deserter is because you send me regular reports on your... _adventures_.” Zack pauses, drink halfway to his mouth as he fumbles for an answer to his superior officer.

“It's not my fault!” he settles for eventually. “I was kidnapped!”

“You have a rather large amount of freedom for a kidnap victim,” the man on the other end of the line says dryly.

“Well if you wanna come down and convince the dragon I'm not a princess--”

There's a long silence, as Sephiroth actually considers the idea, before the line clicks and goes dead.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cats are contradictery balls of rage stuffed in a furry affectionate shell. I forgot what sparked this but Luci was, as usual, involved.

"Haven't you ever met a cat before?" Zack asked, hand over his mouth and trying not to laugh. Tifa looked just as amused; the small kitten she'd brought along had wriggled its way out of her arms when it spotted Cloud, and now stood before the large dragon, puffed up. It was hissing and spitting, trying its best to look as menacing and evil as possible, and the dragon had puffed himself up in response; the wings angled to make himself even larger and a low growl rumbled in his chest.

"No," Cloud said shortly, before his attention returned to the little... _thing_ challenging him. "I have never met a _cat_ before."

Zack snickered as Tifa crossed her arms, stepping forward. "It's only a baby Cloud, stop trying to scare it--"

"It said my mother was a chocobo and my father smelt of rats!"

Zack lost it, dropping to his knees and pounding a fist in the dirt as he laughed. Tifa paused mid step, face going an interesting shade of pink as she struggled not to join her friend on the ground; Cloud didn't look at all amused by the situation.

"I-insults aside," Tifa managed after a moment. "It's only a baby and doesn't know any better--" Cloud hissed in response, and the cat took advantage of his distraction to pounce; Tifa lost the battle of will against laughter at Cloud's expression when he found himself with a face full of cat. With both humans on the ground and essentially useless Cloud gave up on them both, and set to work trying to peel kitten off his face without damaging it. (Tifa would get mad, and then who would bring the goats?)

(He had to admit the pest had moxie, and by the time Tifa and Zack left Cloud was the proud new owner of a cat named Gil. Of course, Gil thought he got the better deal.)


	9. Crazy Cat Dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place the immediate morning after the events of last chapter. Still Luci's fault, and he requested this one so go ahead and blame him for the cute.

"Cloud?" Zack called cautiously, standing in the cave mouth. He had no idea what had happened, but somehow over night the cave had literally _filled_ with cats. "Cloud are you in here?"

"Yes, over here." Cats tumbled away and scattered as the dragon picked himself up off the floor in a corner, turning bright eyes on his ~~princess~~ human friend. "Good morning Zack. Did you sleep well last night? I slept very well--"

"Um--yeah. I slept fine. Hey, can I ask you where... uh. Where did all these _cats_ come from?" Zack scratched the back of his neck as his eyes tracked at least six different pairs of cats, all in various states of asleep or playing. There'd only been the one kitten when he and Tifa had left for the night, and now suddenly there were over two dozen, maybe more. There weren't even that many cats in Nibelheim, so where...?

"Well, Rocket Town no longer has a rat problem so I brought them here. And there was another village, I took those too."

"Oh. Alri-- _what?_ " He swung around to stare at the dragon wide eyed. _What_? "Are you saying--Did you _catnap two entire town's worth of cats_?"

Cloud merely blinked back calmly, claws tapping the stone floor gently as cats wound their way around him. One even made it's way up his foot and onto his shoulder before settling for a nap, and Zack sighed.

"They wanted to come."

" _Cloud_. You can't just take people's pets!" A six ton dragon pouting was both cute and utterly terrifying, and Zack took a small step back. (Just in case he decided fire was the way to go.) "Cloud, you have to bring them back. Gil was alright, he didn't have a home or family but all the rest _do_ and they're all probably worried."

"But they _wanted_ to come!"

Zack didn't even _know_ dragons could cry until now. Rubbing his face with a sigh, the SOLDIER considered for a moment. "What if we went to visit them after they go home?"

"Every day?"

"Once a week."

"Four times."

"Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Final offer."

The dragon perked up again, tip of his tail wagging. Zack tried not to grin at the cat who jumped over it as Cloud agreed to bring them all home. Now they just had to herd two dozen plus cats across the mountains.

 _Fuck_.


	10. Mako Showers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moment of seriousness instead of silly things, maybe? It doesn't last long.
> 
> Feel better, Luci friend.

"You know," Zack murmured absently, studying the mako fountain they'd stumbled across inside one of the caves. "I just realized--other dragons can't talk, and they're certainly not so... friendly? Most of 'em are mako mad, even. Like, most of the wildlife here is dangerous, and then there's just... _you_."

Cloud looked almost offended for a moment, before his rolled his huge shoulders in a shrug, response to the unasked questions flitting between them. "I think I was like the others once? I can't remember. One day I was just me, and that's all." _{Burning, fire in his veins; not the normal dragon fire, strange man in a white coat. Face glints--}_ He had no interest in remembering how or why he was different from other dragons; it was the _now_ that interested him more.

"It's a mako fountain though, right? Humans get materia from these sometimes, Tifa said. Are there any pretty ones in there? I want them if there are, and maybe one for Tifa." He inched closer, poking his snout at the underside of the formation carefully to avoid getting any on himself. "Come on Zack, check it out for me!"

Zack let the topic go, snorting softly and giving Cloud a soft shove to get him out of the way. Princess duty called, as usual.


	11. time warps in space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throwback to first night with Cloudo.
> 
> Two chapters today because why not? ~~I think a plot's working it's way in here without my permission.~~

It was cold that night, which was doubly uncomfortable on a stone floor. Even mako enhancements couldn't keep Zack warm against the sort of cold that seeped into ever crevice in Nibelheim. Luckily, he had a dragon who was, apparently, a cuddler. Wrapped up in the warm scales of the dragon he'd become an unwilling princess to, Zack considered his options.

Somehow, he doubted he'd be getting away any time soon--the locals didn't seem concerned at all about the resident dragon, so it was highly unlikely they'd be calling in ShinRa to remove it; in fact his guide Tifa had acted downright like best friends with the damn thing. Said dragon was faster than he looked with all that bulk, Zack had seen him move nearly as fast as Sephiroth, and with the dragon between him and the Buster there was no way he was getting to his sword either. (Cloud had definitely been intelligent enough to take the sword away and not let him have it back, too. Maybe he really _shouldn't_ have laughed?)

"Stop moving," Cloud rumbled, head tucked into a scaled leg. "You'll freeze, and then what will I do? Tifa can't be a full time princess, she has an inn to help run."

"I have a job--!"

Yet again his complaint was ignored, and Zack sighed. Tomorrow he'd check the cave for alternate exits and go from there.


	12. Paper dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ~~/slowly strokes friend's face.~~ This one had to stew a few days before I figured out what to do with it, but Cloud and festivals seemed kind of nice. I'm thinking this is set in Nibelheim summer season, and my headcanon is that they're short summers? Warm, but still chilly because reasons, especially at night.
> 
> No idea what this festival is for either, but I feel like paper lanterns are traditional lighting for the festival once it gets dark, with large bonfires spread across the village and maybe some colored lights like you see at christmas draped over stalls. I think it's mostly just food stalls, maybe a couple souveneir stalls? Possibly one or two for children's games, but I think the majority of the entertainment for this is just mingling with neighbors and gossip for adults, and the kids just rn around playing whatever games kids play when they're being allowed to run wild. Dancing, later in the evening.
> 
> They're probably celebrating the fact that they survived the winter and cold-ish spring and to bring good luck for fall and winter or something though.
> 
> I didn't actually put much thought into it at all, haha. It's just what feels right when I picture the thing in my head? ~~what is plotting, I'm an impulsive writer I write whatever feels like it's supposed to be there haha. I literaly didn't even have the visual put into words until I typed it here woops.~~

"I've never been to a festival before." Cloud narrowly avoided walking into a stall, too busy swinging his head side to side to see _everything_ to really pay attention to where he was stepping; had Tifa and Zack not been there, half the festival stalls probably would have been leveled entirely on accident by now. "But I have watched from my cave sometimes. The lights are always pretty, at night. I always wanted to come though..." But a dragon, coming to a festival?

Tifa smiled slightly, reaching up to pat her draconic friend before gently directioning him around yet another stall. (When Tifa had asked during the annual planning if Cloud could come too, someone had been smart enough to make the suggestion that they widen the space between everything this year if their resident dragon was going to attend. It was probably the only reason nothing had fallen over yet.) Zack laughed, spreading his hands in a gesture meant to encompass all of the village.

"This is nothing Cloud! Migdar has some good ones, and the festivals in Kalm are even bigger than this! One day we'll go, yeah? I mean, maybe it'll take some wrangling to get transport for a dragon, and some work to convince them you're harmless but one day!"

"Oooh, can we?" Sharp teeth glinted in the light of paper lanterns, colored lights playing across scales. It was a grin, Zack knew immediately even as a few people shied away just in case. Cloud was _happy_ , and that made Zack happy too. Cloud was always more fun when he was happy; Tifa perked beside them suddenly and bounced away towards a food stall in a manner that had both males following behind her like puppies--Tifa always picked out the best foods, and if she was going to buy something then it _had_ to be good.

 

\-----------------------

Cloud couldn't dance. Not on land, at least. He had four left feet and was new to all the dances that Tifa knew (and was teaching Zack, but he was just as many left feet as Cloud, and he only had half the number of feet), and eventually had to concede that dragons just weren't made for dancing.

But _singing_ \--it wasn't in a human tongue, but it was beautiful whatever language it was and Cloud could keep time well. So instead of dancing, the dragon sang.


	13. Fuzzy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud starts becoming more than just the dragon they pay taxes to.

Cloud hadn't known Nibelheim could be so friendly; but then, he'd never really tried to be friends with the residents. Tifa had been the exception, and she had initiated that friendship. It wasn't until Zack had come along that the dragon had even _tried_ , and finding that everyone seemed to... _like_ him was a bit of a shock. (Granted, they had grumbled a bit at first, and definitely didn't like him those years ago when he'd first taken over his cave, but he hadn't been in the village then and they'd grown used to their reptilian landlord. But he'd been pretty helpful around town, and Zack's innate charisma just smoothed everything further so it was only natural that they'd like him.) It was nice, he mused as he held up the end of a wagon so the wheel could be replaced. Being useful and being liked, he enjoyed it. And Missus Strife had even taken to calling him _son_. ( _"Well, I treat you like one don't I?_ _So you're maybe a bit bigger than other folks' children, that doesn't matter. You're a good boy Cloud."_ ) It made him feel sort of fuzzy inside.

Zack had laughed when he mentioned it, though he'd hastily explained that he wasn't making fun of him when Cloud had started getting huff. ( _"Just glad you're finally making friends, buddy. It's probably love, or maybe just happiness_ _. People are usually happy when others care about them."_ )

He didn't really understand everything yet, but he was still learning so Cloud supposed it was alright. He had _friends_ now. (And maybe even a _mother_. Mothers were important.)


	14. Playin' with portals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to suggest adventures for Cloud and co. to have, because sometimes I have the itchy writer's fingers but no actual adventures for them to go on and a pile of suggestions is useful, haha. I don't mind fielding requests for adventures, as long as I can find a way to work them in.
> 
> Leanne is an OC of my own, and her appearance here is ref to a dragon!cloud RP with Luci which in itself was a reference to this fic. Refs come full circle?

"So, you don't need materia to do magic at all?" Zack leaned forward, and the blonde girl leaned back a bit with a bit of an odd look on her face. Cloud watched in mild interest; the girl had claimed to be a witch from another world. While he knew Zack could take care of himself, Cloud had listened to a lot of stories from Tifa about princesses kidnapped by witches and he didn't want this girl taking Zack away from him. He'd eat her before she got very far, though he might demand a new princess first if something happened to Zack. (Not the ninja girl Zack had told him about though, he didn't need a _thief_ in his cave full of treasures.)

"Um, yeah. But I do need circles, so I think between us your magic is actually faster, and easier to use." Leanne (as she'd said her name was when Tifa asked) shrugged a bit as she spoke, fingers tapping against the bag by her side. Cloud wondered what was inside, but it seemed rude to just ask outright when they were in the middle of a conversation, so...

"Well, let me go get mine. Maybe something in there'll be useful and you can use it to get home," Zack offered easily, getting to his feet to find his stash. The blonde's eyes flicked around the cave as he went, before settling on the dragon. Cloud offered a toothy smile, half hello and half warning and was surprised when she beamed back at him.

"Well, at least someone here is familiar."

"Pardon?"

She laughed, waving a hand. "Nothing, sorry. There's just another Cloud I know. I turned him into a dragon once by mistake, and uh--well, he wasn't happy about it, but what can you do? There's a lot of worlds and a lot of people carry over in different ways and-- _well_ , that's not important. The important thing is finding a friendly face even if it's not the same one I know. It makes things easier to cope. So, jerky?"

Cloud blinked.


	15. Snow dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usual notes, for Luci, etc etc.
> 
> I just wanted Cloud to make snowmen, tho.

Claws, as it turned out, were not ideal for making snowmen. No matter how he tried, Cloud just seemed unable to manage the delicate work of placing snowballs on top of each other without his claws getting in the way, and thus he had been delegated the duty of gathering all the snow into one big pile for Tifa and Zack to form instead.

He _had_ been allowed to use said claws to make faces and carve out details, however. Carefully stepping back from his latest subject, Cloud surveyed the mountainside that the three of them had spent the day decorating; snowmen and snow dragons were everywhere, in various poses and expressions thanks to his handiwork. Beside him Zack stroked his chin, frowning.

"Something's missing."

"What?" What could they possibly be missing? Cloud frowned, trying to see it himself.

"Hats! They all need hats!"

"Zack, we don't have enough hats," Tifa objected. And that was true--they'd only brought a couple out with them, and even back in town there wouldn't be enough hats for all the snowmen they'd made today. Zack frowned again as he realized she was right, trying to think. Snowmen needed hats, though. He was certain of it.

So they'd just have to make some.

"Let's get leaves, we'll make leaf hats!"


	16. Old

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I may have done a sad.

The life expectancy of wild dragons, Tifa had always known, was about twenty years on average. Disease, mako, injuries and scarcity of food after bad winters always took their toll on them eventually, even those that survived longer than twenty years. Even other dragons could be a danger to one. And those that survived _all of that_ died of old age within a few short years. Everything got old, eventually. But the statistics were for _normal_ dragons, and Cloud had long since ceased to _be_ a normal dragon. He was _Cloud_ , their best friend and he'd become a fixture in their lives. Nibelheim just wasn't Nibelheim without him.

But Cloud was dying, and there was nothing they could do about it. It hurt, when she thought about how his scales had lost their shine, or how he was too tired to even leave his cave anymore, how he slept nearly all the time. She'd known him since she was twelve, had been his friend for fifteen years and Zack's for twelve. They'd had _adventures_ together, traveled together. Laughed, cried, done stupid things.

She'd helped him learn to _fly_.

And now he was dying and she couldn't stop it.

"Don't cry Tifa," Cloud mumbled softly, eyes slitting open. "I know you were only a part time princess, but princesses don't cry."

"Idiot," she replied, wiping her eyes. "Zack's crying too."

"Yes, but he never was a very good princess was he?" Cloud tried to smile, a claw reaching out to poke her gently. Zack huffed, wiping his own face on a sleeve before he reached out to place a hand on the dull scales beside Tifa's.

"Thank you both, though. For being my friends."

Zack shook his head fiercely. "No. You don't thank people for being your friends Cloud, you--you just _are_ okay? Always, no matter what."

"Okay. I'll see you again." The dragon closed his eyes, and breathed out quietly. As Tifa choked back a sob, tendrils of green began to lift off his body, evaporating into the cool mountain air.

 ------------------------------

_"Hi! I'm Cloud. Wanna see something cool?"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Okay. What's your name then?"_

_"Tifa."_

_"Okay Tifa. Watch this--"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the end, promise. I'm pretty much jumping around their timeline, so nothing is really in order. Also originally this was going to be Tifa and Zack dying of old age and leaving Cloud behind but then I thought "why not subvert the dragon outlives all human friends trope" and thus we get dragons who don't live as long as people. /shrug


	17. Burning Nibelheim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still For Luci, the usual--
> 
> Also I'm sorry if the title terrified anyone and in an attempt to make you feel better I'll only say that it's actually a reference to the wasp nest on my porch that is now officially dead. Luci decided to make me feel better about it by dubbing it Nibelheim amd making a dumb screencap edit to turn Cloud into a wasp that amused me; said nest was officially referred to as Nibelheim after that and I was urged to burn it down a lot.
> 
> For the record, it made me laugh and was a huge help even if holy fuck wasp nest is terrifying thing to find.

Both Zack and Cloud were bewildered when they learned of Tifa's fear of flying insects, and wasps in particular. While not an insect native to Nibelheim (it was far too cold to support them, and the spring and summers too short to grow the food sources they required), she apparently knew enough about the creatures to be utterly _terrfied_ the day she found a wasp nest outside the window of her room at the Kalm inn. Zack had burst into her room, sword half out and ready to defend his friend only to find the woman hiding in the closet on the other side of the room and nothing else in sight.

"Tifa...?"

"There's a _wasp_ nest!"

"...Oh?" He was a bit confused about the fear, since in his experience tiny little wasps were nothing compared to the giant insects in Gongaga, but she _was_ genuinely afraid; with careful movements and little fuss, Zack managed to get the nest off the outside wall and to a large open space without being stung or swarmed. (A little bit of Confuse came in handy, he learned. Who knew it worked on wasps?)

"Okay Cloud! Light it up." Jumping back out of the way to avoid the burst of flame from Cloud's mouth, Zack jogged back to their female friend and gave her a gentle pat. "Look Tifa. All gone, yeah? Cloud's even giving 'em the firebomb treatment for you."

"Thanks guys," she replied eventually, after the nest had burnt to ash moments later. "Sorry for freaking out."

"Nah, it's cool. I'm afraid of Touch Mes."

"What's a Touch Me?" Cloud asked curiously, nudging his large head between the two. Zack grinned, holding out his hands to indicate size.

"Frogs, 'bout this big! Turn you into frogs too when they touch you."

"You're afraid of _frogs_?" Cloud scoffed, even as Tifa grinned and gave him a gentle bop on the nose.

"Be nice Cloud. You're afraid of dorky faces, remember?"

"One time! Just once! I wasn't even scared, I was just startled--!"

"Uh huh. Big scary dragon, afraid of tiny little dorky faces," Zack crowed, inwardly grateful for Cloud's catching onto the distraction so quickly. Thankfully, Tifa seemed to be just fine so with another laugh, he settled in to tease the dragon all the way back to the inn.


	18. Clood the magic dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sometimes call Cloud "Clood" when me and Luci are doing dumb crack stuff, soooo--
> 
> Here you go. This one's really short, all dialogue and kind of hard to follow probably though. Haha.

"Clood."

"Zack, no."

"Clooooooooooooooood."

" _Zack_."

"Yeah, Clood?"

"If you call me Clood one more time, I swear I'm going to _eat you_."

"But Clood-- oh shit! _Tifa_!"

"Get back here!"

"Tifa, _help he's trying to eat me! Tifa!"_

"You got yourself into it, you can get yourself out of it! I'm not getting in Cloud's way--"

" _GET BACK HERE, ZACK!"_

_"TIFA--!"_

 


	19. Fish fried

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big Mouth Billy Bass is a fond childhood memory, I'm not in any way sorry for this.

" _Take me to the river, drop me in the water_  
 _Take me to the river, dip me in the water_  
 _Washithfgd nhtdh fhn ---"_

"Woah!" Zack jumped back in surprise as a jet of flame slammed into the back wall of the cave, obliterating the singing fish mid lyric. Grumpily, Cloud turned away, one eye giving Zack the _look_. Zack tried to look mournful as he poked at the ashes of the plastic fish. It'd been a pretty cool offering, in his opinion. And carried a tuna damn well.

_Guess Cloud didn't agree._

"It was an ugly fish," the dragon sniffed, closing his eye slowly. "And it was _annoying_ after the three hundred and fifty fourth repetition of the song." The tip of his tail flicked at Zack, a gesture for him to come and get warm for a bit. The SOLDIER obeyed the wordless command without thinking, dropping down to get comfortable against the scales at his back.

"So, if they send you another one can I--"

" _No_."


	20. Flower girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still for Luci but also maybe a little bit for Nommy this chapter.
> 
> You guys weren't expecting me to ignore Aerith forever, right? ~~Not that I was, I just had not figured out how to get her in yet.~~

Aerith, it turned out, was very easily distracted from the mildly terrifying sky by the large dragon her boyfriend came to 'rescue' her on; Cloud was significantly less amused than Zack about the whole deal, but they _were_ friends and he could tolerate the indignity of being used as a chocobo for a bit. He'd get his revenge anyway, on the way back.

"Y'know Zack, isn't the _princess_ supposed to be rescued by the knight?" The Wastes were large, and even for the ground eating pace of a dragon it would be a awhile before they were close to home. Cloud had more than enough time to not only tease Zack, but implement _Operation: Get Zack in the dress._

"He's right, you know," Aerith added slyly, smiling at her boyfriend. "It seems awful backwards for the princess to be riding in on a dragon to rescue his knight from the monsters."

"At least you make a pretty knight," Cloud decided, twisting to look over a shoulder at the humans on his back. "I do hope you make a better knight than Zack makes a princess. He won't even wear the dress."

"I'm not wearing a dress, Cloud!"

"Is it a pretty dress?"

"Aerith don't encourage him!"

"It's a nice pink color. I think it suits him well."

Zack groaned, slumping forward as his girlfriend and best friend began conspiring to put him into a dress. He was never going to escape now, not when all three of them were likely to gang up on him until he wore the stupid thing.

Ah well. At least he'd finally fulfilled his promise to show Aerith the sky.


	21. Cursed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few are going to be chronological order, probably, or if not chronological then at the very least in the same time period. There won't be any explanations given in story for Cloud's predicament, but just assume that OC awhile back was involved in some way.

"Zack, it's _cold_!" Cloud whined, curled up in the corner of Missus Strife's kitchen and plastered against the wood stove in a pile of blankets. The only visible parts of the former dragon were a tuft of blond hair and blue eyes peeking out balefully. "And these blankets _itch_ , I don't like them! Get my scales back!"

Beside him, Tifa shoved another spoonful of Strife Specialty Stew into Cloud's mouth before he could close it again. "Chew," she demanded and the dragon obeyed immediately. It _was_ some good stew, and it kept him warm. The memory of the freezing winds in his cave and the rushed trip to the Strife house before he froze to death made him shiver again. Zack set down the pile of firewood beside the stove and turned to Cloud, crossing his arms.

"Maybe if you'd stop taking off the clothes I gave you--"

"They're too big! And they itch too!"

"I dunno what to tell you then Cloud! Either wear the clothes and be warm until we fix it, or go naked and be cold."

Cloud pouted, burrowing further into the blankets to avoid Tifa's next spoonful of stew.

"You're being a terrible princess again."

"Too bad."


	22. Pants Please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Promised Luci this one in exchange for AV run. ~~Luci, come here so I can idnap you for AV.~~
> 
>  
> 
> ~~eh. I don't like this one at all. My hands won't cooperate. Don't be surprised if this version vanishes to be replaced by something better later. >_>~~

"Cloud, if I have to tell you to put on those god damn pants one more time--"

"Zack, they're too big. I don't want them," Cloud complained, huddling against the far wall of the cave. Zack scowled as he stood over the human shaped dragon, pants thrust out.

"It's because they're mine. It doesn't matter, just put them on before you freeze to death. You don't have an internal heater anymore." He shook the pants at Cloud lightly, and with a loud grumble the blond took them. Turning away from Zack, Cloud inspected the pants for a long moment as he tried to figure out how they worked. Why humans needed so many buttons and zippers he had no idea, and glancing back at Zack provided very little in the way of instruction.

"...I don't know how to do it," he admitted finally. With a sigh Zack stepped forward to take them back, shaking them out and tilting his head to indicate a leg.

"Put that leg in this hole first."

"This one?"

"No, the _other_ one--"

**Crash**.

"Zack did you get Cloud into the pants yet--oh." Tifa slowly backed out of the cave, covering her face with the shirt in her hands. "Sorry!"


	23. I am Milk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Don't ask about title, it's a stupid joke.~~
> 
>  
> 
> Luci wanted soy milk so he got soy milk. /rolls off the Midgar cliffs.

It had never occurred to Zack that dragons could be lactose intolerant, human form or not; in retrospect it made sense. Dragons weren't mammals and weren't fed on milk, and even animals other than human lost the ability to digest milk well once they were weaned. He still wished he'd thought of this _before_ Cloud had gotten sick on the large glass of milk he'd let him have when Mama Strife had given them all some cake.

The woman and her ability to take care of Cloud (more like tame the bloody dragon when he was in a bad mood) was a godsend.

"Soy milk," the brunette muttered under his breath as he browsed the shelves of the local store frantically. Dry toast, soy milk to replace the normal milk in the fridge and some medicine to help his stomach had been the tiny woman's instructions--but out of three, the only items she had on hand were bread for toast. Thus Zack had been dispatched to the store for medicine and soy milk.

\-----------

"Zack, this says almonds." Cloud peered suspiciously at the carton of milk on the table as Zack put away the things he'd bought. (So maybe he'd bought some extra snacks and then maybe some regular groceries too, but the woman _was_ essentially feeding them for free so he could at least help out by restocking what they'd eaten...) Zack didn't even look up from the canned vegetables he was tucking away.

"Contrary to belief, I _can_ read."

"Then why isn't it soy?"

"They didn't have any. Only almonds. Mama Strife said it was fine, the point was lactose free milk, which this is."

"Hmmm." Cloud prodded the carton lightly before huffing as he turned away.

"I wanted soy."

Zack rolled his eyed, opting to hold out the medicine instead. "Are you going to take it willingly or do I have to force feed you like a chocobo?" The dragon's only reply was an indignant scowl even as he took the box; the SOLDIER took the opportunity to make him the dry toast before he could start complaining again.

"Here, this will help too."

"...Thanks," Cloud muttered grudgingly after a moment. Toast in hand, he retreated to his blanket nest beside the wood stove.


	24. E for Everyone, but not D for Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FFXIV time with Luci is always interesting. Cloud decides he wants to be a gamer dragon, but claws don't play nice with controllers, and VR headsets don't come in dragon sizes. (Yet.)
> 
> Sorry Cloud.

"Shit, Cloud use Fire2--"

"I'm trying!" A frustrated roar escaped Cloud's throat as he died yet again, the tinny voice of the party healer yelling at him through the game system's speakers doing nothing to help the situation.

"Dude chill!" Zack yelled into the microphone of his headset, nudging his dragon friend a bit. "It's not his fault, okay? He can't navigate the controller with claws, it's not like Cloud's dying on purpose or anything." The healer's response caused the controller in Cloud's grip to crack, crushed in between claws angrily. With an annoyed snarl he spat fire, incinerating the game system abruptly, and Zack yelped as he fell backwards, ripping his own VR headset off to stamp out the fire.

"Calm down Cloud!"

"I _am calm_!" The angry dragon got to his feet, pacing in a large circle across the cave floor. "Where's the headset for me? You promised me Reeve would have it delivered this week so I could play properly!"

"And it's on its way, I promise--" Zack swore under his breath as Tifa and Aerith both poked their heads into the cave with questioning looks on their faces. "Everything's fine ladies! Just a technical problems." Tifa shrugged and ducked away again at that, pulling her new friend away again, and Zack ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"I want it _now_!"

"Reeve said it'll be here tomorrow Cloud." The SOLDIER knelt down to pick up the pieces of the smashed controller, sighing. "I better call and have them send a new game system too," he added dryly. "Since you trashed this one. Again." Cloud snorted in response, looking away. It wasn't _his_ fault, he was certain. If they'd just make dragon sized controllers, it wouldn't be a problem in the first place; not that ShinRa seemed to take it seriously when Zack had broached the topic. At least with the VR headset he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, he decided finally. Until then though, he supposed he would hold off on the MMOS.

No one understood the woes of a dragon with an inadequate hardware anyway.


	25. Pack mule

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cute fluffy things.

There were a lot of things Cloud considered himself far too dignified to ever stoop to doing; being a pack chocobo was very high up on that list. (Though fetching things back and forth for the villagers recently had become something he was more willing to do when he'd started making friends with them, being led around while carrying bags on his back like a chocobo was still where he drew the line.)

And yet, when Mama Strife asked him to help her ferry a cart full of blankets across the Nibel Mountains and to Rocket Town to sell Cloud couldn't deny her. The dragon absolutely _adored_ the woman, and despite all of Zack's jokes about chocobos and dragons (and the subsequent temper tantrum and the fire hazard that was Zack) Cloud allowed himself to hitched up to a cart like some sort of common animal.

And when the woman scratched his scales and called him _son_ as she thanked him for being so helpful, Cloud couldn't help preening. He might not be a chocobo, but for Mama Strife he'd be _anything_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the sudden urge for Cloud to decide he's gonna join SOLDIER and be the first dragon to ever work at ShinRa.


	26. White Mage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this takes place sometime after the events of 14 but before the events of 21, 22 and 23. This is also all/mostly dialogue and at least half caps lock.
> 
> For Luci as requested~ ~~I am so sorry I healed myself 3 times and let you die that one time tho. In my defense, we knew I was a shitty healer lmao.~~

"WHY ARE YOU HEALING YOURSELF? I'M DYING--"

"I'M SORRY! I _TOLD_ YOU I WAS A SHIT HEALER!"

Zack winced slightly at the sound of a crash and an annoyed roar, hurriedly ushering Tifa out of the cave and away from what he was sure was going to be a spectacular amount of fireworks.

"NO THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO IT--GIVE ME THAT!"

"HEY NO, THAT'S MINE--!"

"GIVE ME THE CONTROLLER LEANNE OR SO HELP ME THERE WILL BE BARBECUED WITCH ON THE MENU TONIGHT!"

Another crash, and he sighed as a game system came flying out of the cave. Reeve was going to start _charging_ him for these... He ducked, throwing Tifa out of the way as a flame burst out of the cave, centimeters behind a fleeing blonde.

"SEE IF I EVER HEAL YOU AGAIN--"

"YOU DIDN'T HEAL ME THIS TIME!"


	27. Birthday Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my birthday today, so I wrote this one for myself as a mini celebration, haha.

"So, what exactly is a birthday?" Cloud asked, watching curiously as Zack ran around their cave, hanging directions and shouting orders to Tifa and Aerith who were both doing something odd with... streamers? (He thought that was what Zack had called them.)

"It's when you have a party to celebrate being born and getting a year older!" the SOLDIER replied, nearly falling off old Mr. Johnson's ladder as he whipped around to hang up another decoration. "But you don't remember when you hatched, right? So we just picked the date I met you for your birthday celebration!"

The dragon poked gently at a decoration, huffing softly as his claw was swatted away by Zack. "But what does one _do_ at a birthday?" he insisted, settling back against a wall. He didn't actually know, having never done this before and he wasn't sure he knew how to participate. As it was, nearly half of Nibelheim had been coming and going all day, bringing things like _presents_ and _food_ and preparing for a village wide party. (He kind of liked the presents!)

"Eat really awesome food and hang out with friends, of course." Zack actually fell off the ladder this time, and Cloud hurried to catch him, cushioning his fall with his own body. "And eat _cake_. And best of all, _presents_!" He grinned up at the dragon as he got back on his feet, climbing right back up to finish the decorations.

"There, all done! Now we just have to finish putting out all the food Mama Strife and the rest of them made and then we can party! Tifa, hit the radio!"

"Got it!"

Cloud winced slightly at the blast of music before it was quickly dropped to a more tolerable level of sound, then looked around as people came streaming back to the cave to wish him a happy birthday.

He could get used to this, he thought. Especially if Mama Strife made that cake every year.


	28. Adventures in Midgar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /gently places a duck on Luci's head and leaves this here
> 
> I do this because I love you.

Midgar was huge, compared to Nibelheim, and for a dragon used to the sleepy routines of a remote mountain village it was a little overwhelming. There were so many  _people_ , and everywhere he looked was concrete and metal; buildings taller than  _him_ on every street corner and in the center of it all ShinRa Tower. The Tower was their current destination, Zack rambling about all of the things he got up to inside the HQ and Aerith half plastered to Cloud's side and using his wing as a shield. (She was Zack's, and Zack was his so that made Aerith his by extension and he wasn't letting the mysterious Turks he'd heard about take her away.)

It wasn't until they'd reached the door that Zack even realized they had a problem--Cloud was far too large to fit through the door, even if ShinRa's ridiculously high ceilings meant he could actually fit into the lobby.

"...You know, I don't think I thought this through all the way," Zack admitted, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. "Hm..."

"How can I enter SOLDIER if I can't even enter the _building_?"

"Aha! I know! Wait here!" Zack dashed off, shouting over his shoulder--if Cloud couldn't get to the recruitment office, then he'd just have to get the recruitment office to him! At least, that was the _intention_ \--what ended up actually happening was a bizarre comedy of errors that no one could have predicted, somehow culminating in half of the recruitment office staff quitting their jobs and the other half putting their collective brains together to figure out the problem of _how_ , exactly, to fit a dragon into a cadet's uniform.

(In the end, General Sephiroth was seen giving cadet Cloud special permission to forgo the uniform due to 'difficulties pertaining to adequate movement as required by training'. Overall it was a satisfactory arrangement for all, and Cloud was quite relieved. He would have looked _ridiculous_ in shorts.)


	29. Fanart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, after last chapter Luci and I discussed Cloud's inability to get into the uniform and how he could just wear the scarf instead. So I went and commissioned a friend of mine to draw it for him so here you go friendo.
> 
> Enjoy your present.
> 
> Artist is _thehappylandfill.tumblr.com_ , and she's also on deviantart with the same username for anyone interested in checking out her art!

 


	30. Midnight shopping adventures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Midgar really is not built for dragons.

Midgar had not been built with dragons in mind; that much had been clear when Cloud first arrived in the city to join the cadet program. Doors were too small, and food sizes in all the restaurants and take out places were calculated for human consumption. Not to mention, no one had thought to inform the residents of Midgar that a dragon had joined the cadet program; there were at _least_ three calls a week for SOLDIERs to dispatch a rampaging dragon for three months before anyone thought to make an announcement that the dragon wandering the city was an employee and not, in fact, a rampaging beast out to devour innocent bystanders.

(The fact that Midgar was not built for dragons did not change three weeks later, when Zack decided midnight was the perfect time for them to go food shopping.)

* * *

"Zack."

"What's up buddy?" Zack didn't look up from his PHS, trying to locate the grocery list he'd emailed to himself earlier that morning. ( _Gotta get Cloud a PHS too_ , he reminded himself abruptly. Reeve had been working on a design that would be both big enough and easy to manipulate with claws for his friend recently.)

"I'm stuck."

There was a pause, before the statement registered in Zack's brain and he looked up; Cloud was indeed stuck. His head had fit through the door just fine, but his shoulders had gotten wedged into the doorway and now he was unable to force himself in further, but also unable to back out. "...OH. Um--shit Cloud hang on--" Zac dropped his PHS into a pocket and looked around, a little frantic. He'd stupidly left his materia bracer at home, and didn't have anything else on him that could cast mini so _that_ solution was right out. A shout of alarm from a nearby clerk, who had  _not_ expected a dragon stuck in the door when he turned the corner, drew Zack's attention and the man bounded over, arms waving frantically.

"Hey! Great timing--don't suppose you have something we can use to help my friend do you?"

"I-uh--N-no. I'm sorry sir, I--" The man took a deep breathe and straightened as the initial alarm wore off, a thoughtful expression coming over his face. "I think I know what might help sir."

* * *

"You know, when I suggested food shopping I didn't think I'd end up spending an hour lubing a dragon."

"Shut up Zack."

"If it helps, at least now your scales are all smooth and shiny--"

"Shut  _up_ Zack."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was asked recently how I come up with adventures for Cloud and friends and tbh I don't really come up with anything ahead of time? The Cloud Dragons plotting process is literally 90% me asking Luci what he wants Cloud to do next and doing it, 5% Luci telling me to write a situation and 5% me taking something that happened to me in and applying it to Cloud's life.
> 
> Basically the plotting process most days is
> 
> Me: What if Cloud did [insert chapter events here]  
> Luci: do it  
> Me: ok  
> Me: *posts chapter hour later*
> 
> [laughs] So yeah like there's nothing really special about how I go about doing stuff.


	31. Treasure Map I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in FFXIV they have treasure maps and Luci ~~who is my real life Cloud whether he likes it or not, honestly~~ and I sometimes party and go around digging up treasure. (Sometimes we bring other people but he's a healer and I'm a black mage with a penchant for ~~dying~~ fire so we often just go by ourselves.)
> 
> I thought dragon Cloud might like a bit of treasure hunting adventure himself though and Luci demanded 3k worth of treasure hunting fic when I asked his opinion, so this is what you get. (It's not 3k words, at least not yet. Oops?)
> 
> Also I've made the executive decision that this particular sequence of events is going to take up multiple chapters, rather than be contained into one large instance. I'm a terrible person and I'm sorry. /laughs into the sun.

"You know," Zack murmured thoughtfully, hands full of gil and jewels as he turned to Cloud. "When you said spring cleaning, I didn't realize you'd have so much...  _stuff_ ." To illustrate his point, the raven allowed his handful to trickle through his fingers; the items clinked gently as they landed atop a pile of similar items. Nearby, Tifa sorted through a pile of scrolls, at least half of which were old and falling apart. Beside her, Aerith looked up from her own pile of odds and ends.

"What will you do with everything you get rid of?" the Ancient asked curiously. Cloud shrugged, wingtips fluttering as he considered the question.

"Well, I'll keep the gil--I need something comfortable to sleep on, and to buy more goats with. But the books and papers I'll send to Nibelheim. The school can use the books and the library can have the scrolls and papers, since they're all old Nibel history I think. I found most of them in other dragon hoards you know." A claw gestured in Zack's direction. "And the jewels I'll sell in Nibelheim."

Tifa made a helpless noise in the back of her throat; at least half of the things he was essentially giving away were priceless. "Cloud--"

"They're  _my_ things, I'll do what I want with them Tifa."

"But Cloud--"

" _Mine_." Large eyes narrowed, until the girl finally subsided; with a smug look the dragon turned back to his sorting. For a long while no one spoke, only the sounds of cleaning filling up the cave. It was just before they broke for lunch however, that Tifa made a startled noise, jumping up from where she'd been sitting against the wall and sorting through yet more old scrolls.

"I found a map!"


	32. Nibelheim New Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is dumb and Luci's fault but I did it.
> 
> Happy new year guys! I wanted to do a christmas thing for christmas but I did not manage so you get this instead. Belated Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Whatever you celebrated as well.

The goats had been eaten, the drinks drained and the music turned up far too loud. Hats had been placed on heads (or in Cloud’s case, wrestled on against his will), and now all that was left was the countdown to the new year.

Two minutes to go, by Zack’s watch.

"We had a pretty good year, right Zack?" Tifa asked, as she passed out another round of drinks to the various Nibelheim residents that had somehow found themselves congregating inside of Cloud’s cave to celebrate the new year. "Rescuing Aerith from Midgar, teaching Cloud how to build a flower cart…"

"Finding a lost treasure," he agreed with a grin. "Yeah, it was a good year. Maybe next year will be just as good."

"I expect twice the number of goats this coming year," Cloud grumbled as he buried his head in a pile of cins. The music was  _way_  too loud for his liking, but Mama Strife had scolded him fiercely when he’d tried to eat the speakers.

_[‘Don’t ruin everyone else’s fun just because you’re a grumpy guts tonight! We’ll turn it down, but it’s the eve of the new year and everyone is having fun.’]_

"Hey, it’s almost time! Thirty seconds!" someone called over all the noise, and even Cloud dug himself out of the pile to follow them all out of the cave.

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

"Why are they yelling numbers—"

"They’re counting down, Cloud—"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Why— _oh_.” Overhead, the sky exploded in color as fireworks went off. “…We’re doing this again next year, right?”

"Sure buddy. We can do it again next year."


	33. girlfriends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Luci as usual.
> 
> Happy (early) Valentine's day bros?
> 
> /kicks Luci gently  
>  ~~basically im a stupid loser so take my shitty writing for the i love you it is meant to be because like 90% of the time i have no idea how feelings work or how to express said feelings to you~~

"She's cute."

The statement was unexpected, causing Zack's head to snap up as he tried to follow Cloud's line of sight. When he realized just  _what_ Cloud was looking at... Well, Cloud was a healthy male dragon, so he shouldn't be surprised right? It was only natural that one day he'd be interested in girls. That didn't make it any less amusing (and adorable) that Cloud had apparently found himself a crush, if the strange tint to his face was any indication.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." The tips of his wings fluttered lightly, and Zack hid a smile behind his fist for a moment before clearing his throat. Cloud swung his head around to glare at him, silently demanding to know why he was interrupting. Zack's hands immediately went up in a gesture of submission.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just gonna ask why not go say hi?"

"What? No! No. I... I can't do that. She looks busy, see? She's very busy and it's rude to interrupt."

Zack's eyebrows went up and he turned his head again to watch the other dragon do... exactly nothing. She was just sitting there, eyes closed against the Wutai sun. "Cloud, she's just sunbathing."

"Exactly! Busy!" Cloud shuffled in place, claws gouging out chunks of rock in his nervousness. On his other side, Tifa snorted and whispered something to Aerith, causing them both to giggle, even as Cloud looked offended. "I am not!"

"Well, then go say hi!" Aerith countered, hands on her hips. "Otherwise we have no choice but to assume you're being shy."

Cloud huffed in response, before sighing. Wings flattened against his sides, the dragon shot both girls a glare, then began inching his way across the mountainside to introduce him to the other dragon. Zack watched, mildly bemused as the two began what looked like a rather earnest conversation in... whatever language roaring could be considered. Beside him, Aerith wrapped her hands around his arm and hummed.

"Well, I'd say that was a success," she said eventually, watching the two dragons climb into a cave out of view. "Want to go have some quality time of our own? Tifa wants to check out the bar so we'll have a few hours."

Zack grinned. "Yeah, sounds good."


	34. Shamrock Shakin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there was an 'argument' in one of my skype chats about Shamrock Shakes and whether or not they taste good. (And by argument I mean a friendly "how dare u u tiny fluffy dog" "no how dare u u piece of bird poop!" shenanigans type debate.) So today I decided to try one for myself since I've never had one before, and I am afraid I must mostly agree with the tiny fluffy dog.
> 
> They taste a lot like creamy toothpaste/those hotel pillow mints. Not so bad but something I can only have once every six months without feeling sick lmao.

"Zack."

"What's up big guy?"

"What is this?"

"What is what?"

" _This_." A claw gestured wildly at the very large cup of...  _green liquid_ Zack had placed in front of him, eyes narrowing in on the raven male. "What is it and why is it green?" Zack turned to peer at Cloud and the shake, before he grinned widely.

"Oh,  _that!_ Well, McSlum Burgers was having their annual Shamrock Shake special so I got you one! It's really good, try it." His smile only widened as the dragon watched him intently, looking for any sign that Zack was pranking him again, before he slowly lowered his head to the cup. Zack watched, silently amused for the five minutes it took for the dragon to figure out how straws worked, before giving him an expectant look as Cloud flicked his tongue thoughtfully.

"Well?"

"It tastes like toothpaste."

"It does not!"

"It does. Very much like toothpaste. Did you fill this cup with toothpaste and try to pass it off as a shake?"

"No!" Zack scowled, snatching the cup up for himself. "Well, if you don't like it then I'll drink it."

"And get my dragon cooties?" Cloud asked, amusement lacing his tone.

Zack sniffed imperiously. "I will risk any number of dragon cooties for a Shamrock Shake, you uneducated swine." the lack of heat in his voice made it obvious the insult was in jest, but Cloud still blew a small spark of fire at his SOLDIER friend.

"Better a swine than to eat toothpaste."


	35. Treasure Map II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Zack falls off a cliff and Cloud doesn't learn to fly.
> 
> Luci says Cloud isn't allowed to learn to fly during the treasure hunt, so he's still flightless. ~~Actually he said he isn't allowed to learn ever but it's mentioned in Cloud's death chapter that Tifa teaches him so for continuity reasons, I have to overrule that particular choice, haha.~~  
>  sorryluciilupls  
> Also you guys are totally allowed to send me prompts for this, I don't mind. ~~Sometimes I need them, tbh.~~ So if there's something you wanna see happen in CD you can message me/leave a comment and I'll try.

The problem, they discovered shortly after the map was unrolled, was that old maps tended to be brittle. It was quickly decided that Zack was prohibited from touching it  _ever_ , though he was allowed to look when they realized that the ink had faded into nearly illegible writing and only Zack (whose handwriting had been the reason verbal reports had been instated in ShinRa in the first place) could make heads or tails of it, and only because his vision was enhanced with mako.

Unsurprisingly, Tifa opted to have Zack read the contents aloud so she could copy them onto paper that wouldn't fall apart if Zack so much as blinked wrong.

* * *

 "Hey uh, correct me if I'm wrong," Zack began slowly, turning in a slow circle on the cliff's edge. "But if the sun sets in the west and it's setting on  _that_ side of the mountain..."

"We've been going the wrong way," Aerith finished with a sigh. "We were supposed to go west, according to the directions in the map." Tifa leaned across Aerith's chest to study the map in Zack's hands with a critical eye for a few moments.

"I think it was at the junction that we took a wrong turn, see? We should have taken the right path, not the straight one."

"But the straight is supposed to wrap around to the west," Zack argued, pointing. "See? It even says so in the directions--"

"Which was drawn decades ago. Landslides and avalanches and shitty Nibel weather changes the faces of the mountains enough to make some of these instructions suspect after long enough. Trust me, as someone who grew up in this range, we should have gone right." Her tone made it clear that arguing was pointless, and since she'd basically been proven right anyway, Zack gave it up as a bad job and stepped back to take another look down the path.

Unfortunately, he'd forgotten that he was on the edge of a cliff, and SOLDIERs couldn't exactly fly. With a yell as he tumbled backwards, Zack scrabbled at the mountainside until he found a foothold, precarious as it was. With a wince as his fingers jabbed painfully into a small crack in the mountainside, Zack peered upwards unhappily.

"Zack--!"

"I'm fine!" He scowled at the mountain for a moment before looking up again, trying to find another foothold to climb upwards. "I'm just... stuck, I think. I can't see any footholds or anything to climb up with, and there's no way to climb down safely either. I think I'm gonna need a rescue here." Above him he could hear the three moving, and after a few seconds, Cloud's head peered over the edge. He grinned up at him tightly.

"Yes, I see him. He's awfully far down... Hm." The dragon's head withdrew and for a moment Zack had the strangest thought of the other three just leaving him there while they found the treasure. The ridiculous thought went away fairly quickly, and he blinked as he watched Cloud's tail slide slowly over the edge of the cliff. It stopped just short, and Cloud huffed loudly, shifting further backwards.

"Can you reach my tail, Zack?"

"Uh, no -- almost, but I can't without stretching and if I do that, I'll fall." It was a good idea though, and he made a hopeful noise as he looked up again. Above him, tiny chunks of rock broke away from the mountainside and fell to the earth below as Cloud's claws dug deeper into rock and dirt. The giant golden body continued its careful descent until his tail was dangling in front of Zack, and with a deep breathe the SOLDIER latched on. "Got it! Pull me up!"

A moment later he was half flying through the air as Cloud whipped his tail up and over; he hit the dirt with a grunt, and his breath burst out of him as Aerith slammed into him there in the dirt. "Zack! You idiot! Be more careful --  you could have  _died_!"

 Lying on the ground as he tried to get his breath back, Zack patted Aerith comfortingly. "I'm fine," he promised. Behind him, he heard the dragon clear his throat.

"If you're done with the tearful reunion, we can continue on now."


	36. Dragon Limbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dragons are limber, but not that limber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was intended to be posted on my birthday last year but, aha. Instead I post it today, and we get another birthday chapter, though this time it is not Cloud's.
> 
> Also I missed this fic's anniversary posting date last year, my bad. This year for sure.

Limbo, Aerith had sworn up and down, was a traditional birthday party game and Cloud  _was going to play_ at least once or so help her --

Unwilling to discover what Aerith would do if he didn't play, the dragon hurriedly joined the line of players, wings tucked in close and head down as if that would hide his bulk from her eyes. Smirking, Aerith reached over to flip on the radio, and Zack laughed into his hand.

"Don't laugh mister, you're getting in that line too!"

"What -- Aerith!"

"Line, Zack!" she repeated, gesturing imperiously to the forming line. Zack pouted, but the woman just crossed her arms and gave him a stern look, and the SOLDIER was forced to concede defeat. Satisfied he would play, Aerith cranked the music up higher and began the game.

* * *

Later, they tried to piece together exactly how Cloud had ended up tangled in the limbo bar, but despite multiple witnesses and at least three different recordings, no one really understood the process all that well.

"I don't get it -- like, did your wings get in the way or what?"

"Shut up, Zack."

"But --"

"Not another word," Cloud growled, wings flexing sharply. "Dragons aren't made to play limbo!"

 


End file.
